Sparking ignition mechanism.



MTBNTED MAR. 27, 1906.

J. I'. JOHNSON. SPARKING IGNITION -MECHANISMl APPLIGATION FILED 0013.19. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

wwwmain www( PATENTED MAR. 27, i906.

m1. JOHNSON. SMOKING IGNITION MBOHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.19. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lllllllllllllll .IIIINIIIIIIIIIIIII switch mechanism.

i responding parts in all the figures of the ter,'in the county of Delaware and State of lvation of an ex lesive-engine', showing two UNITED sTTns PATENT, orifice.

Specification of vLetters Patent. y

Patented March 2'?, 19b6.

App'iiaaou fini october 19, 1'904. serial-No. 229,134.

To a/ZZ lwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, "Jo'iiN'v F. JOHNSON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Ches- Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Sparking Ignition Mechanism, of which the following is aspeciiication.

The present invention relates to electrical ignition mechanism, and has more particular reference to that employed in connection with jump-spark plugs or igniters.

One of the objects `of theinvention is to provide switch mechanism for the igniter and operatin means ltherefor that is simple, practical, an is entirely reliable. J

. Another object is to provide novel means of a simple nature for varying the time of ignition with respect to the movement ofthe piston.

Still another and very important object is to provide very simple means particularly useful in connection with, a plurality of igniters f or effecting the successive action ofthe same from a single source of electric energy without causing the formation of arcs at the The referred embodiment of the invention is iFlustrated in the accompanying drawings and is described in the'following speciiication; but saidinvention is not limited to the particular cnstruction herein set forth.

ln the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in elecylinders in tan em'with the improved igniting mechanism, portions1 ofv said mechanism being illustrated diagrammatically. Fig. 2 is ay vertical sectional view through the switch mechanism. Fig. 3 isla detail horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig.-4 is also a de tail horizontal sectional view taken on lthe line 44 of Fig; l. F ig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the mechanism. Fig. 6 is another diagrammatic view of a slightly-modified arrangementv of parts.

Similar reference-numerals designate -cordrawings.

Tn the embodiment illustrated an engineis shown having cylinders 7 and 8, disposed in tandem, the usual pistons of said cylinders being connected to an engine-shaft 9. This engine is of the type fully disclosed in a copending application, Serial No. 229,133, and the structure of the same is not important, as

the ignition mechanism may be employed in engines of various forms. I,Each cylinder is provided with an ignition or sparking plug 10 and 11 preferably of the type known as the jump-spark, wherein spaced terminals 12 and 13 are employed, as illustrated in Fig.' 5, one of said terminals being grounded to the cylinder, the other being insulated there-l .18 and having a handle-grip 19 at its upper end. A quadrant-rack 20, secured to the lower engine-cylinder 8 in rear of the lever, is

larranged to be engaged by a vertically-movable dog 21, mounted in a seat' 22 in the rear portion of the lever and yieldingly urged in a downward ,direction and into engagement with'the rack by a spring 23. The lever can thus be thrown from side to side and will remain in any of its various positions.

An arm 24, extending longitudinally of the lever, carries between its ends a reciprocatory fnlcrum pin 25, that 'slidably passes throu h the slot of the level', said pin having a head 26 at its rear end. The lower nd of .the arm 24 has a strap' 27 sur'oundiig an eccentric 28, carried by the engine-shaft 9L .It will thus be apparent that the arm upon the revolution of the shaft has a gyratory movement',.or, in other words, swings back and forth and reciprocates at the same time. A source of electrical energy (indicated at 29) has connected thereto a primary ci 'cuit including the primary coil 30 of induction apparatus, (shown diagramriiatically at 31,)

which apparatus includes a vibrator-contact 32. Qne pole of' the primary circuit is grounded', as shown at 33, on the enginecylinder with which the lever, and colisequently the fulcrum, is in electrical connection, while the other terminal or "pole has electrical communication, as shownV aty 34, with a binding-post 35, secured to an insulator-block 36, that is fastened to the lever.

This binding-post is in contact with a sleeve 37, within which slides a contact-head 38, yieldingly projected from the rear of the block 36 by a coiled spring 39, disposed in rear of the head.

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A flexible. contact device in the form of a spring 4() 1s secured to the rear face of the y head 26 of the fulcrum 25, and thevhead 38 niters 10 and 11.

bei-nglocated in the path or" movement of the" 5' shown vat 44, with a contact device in the ofm f a SPlDg 45, Carried lby the uppe;` end of the arm 24 and insulated therefrom by a il'blo'clr 46. Coperating with the contact devzo vicel 45 are othercontact-heads 47 and 48,

mounted in an insulator-block 49, that iscarried by the upper end of the. lever 19.

A These heads have attached'thereto binding'- posts 50, which pass through Shanks 51, em-

bedded in the insulator-block. One of the binding-posts 50 is electrically connected by a wire 52 with thev insulated terminal 13 of the igniter-block 10, while the other bindingpost, and therefore thecontact-head 47, is in electrical connection, as shown at 5 3, with the insulated terminal 13 of the plug 11.

From the above it will be clear that the secondarv circuit includes besides the induction apparatus the switch consisting of the spring 45 and 'heads 47 and 48 andlthat when the spring 45 is in contact -with head 47 the 'secondary circuit willbe closed *through the igniting-plug 11, while when the contact device 45 is in engagement with the head 48 the secondary circuit will be closed through the plug 10. Now the contact device 45 of the secondary-circuit switch and the contact device 40 of the primary-circuit switch are so located with respect .to each other that upon the movement of the afm under the action of the engine the contact device 45 will always move into engagement with one of the heads 47 48 prior to the engagement of the contact device 40 with .the head 38, so that the seclondary -the secondary current Jrromon'e b other successively and 1t 1s very desirable to avoid anarc or spark between the contact.

circuit will always be closed prior to the primary circuit,`though both circuits will be-in closed condition'at the same time. 0n the oth'e'." hand, the contact device' 40 will move\ ont of engagement with the head 38 before the contact device 45 moves out of coaction with ei-ther the head 47 or the head 48. This is an important feature in the operation of the device, for as it is necessa to switch echte/the devices 45, 47, and 48 it is therefore necessary to effect the contacts between these points prior to the closing1 of the primary circuit, and consequently t e generation of the secondary current. This is eiectually seclame cured in the present case, for .as the engineshaft rotates the contact-sprin 45 will move into engagement with one of the contact devices 47 and 48, and immediatelythereafter, due tothe reciprocation of the fulcrum 25, the contact device 4() will engage the head 38, thus closing the primary circuit and generating-a secondary current in the induction apparatus, which current ilowing through theclosedcircuit will generate the s ark at the ignition-plug that happens to be ocated therein. A continued movement of the ar'm eHects the opening of the primary switch 40 38 andthe spring 45 passes from engagement with its coacting head.- As soon as these successive movements have taken lace the said spring 45 moves quickly to t e other contact-head and the same successive opera tions take place, thereby closing the circuits to make/the other ignition-plug' operative. Thus it will be seen that upon the downward swinging movement of the arm 24 the seconda:y circuit will be closed through the plug in one cylinder and current introduced therein to explode a charge in such cylinder and that upon theupward Vswinging movement of such arm the secondary circuit will be closed through the plu in the other cylinder and a current induce a .current in said .other cylinder.

In order to change the period oi' ignitions, it is only necessary to swing the lever 17 in one direction or the other, thus changing the relative positions of the contact devices and the paths of movement of those operated by the arm, without, however, altering the succession of contacts made as above described.

The switch mechanisms are very simple, thoroughly reliable, and eHicient. The parts may be readily constructed, and while, as already stated, the mechanism is particularly useful in connection with a plurality of sparkers, any number of which can be employed, necessitating merely the increase of `contact-heads and connections, it will also be apparent that portions oi this mechanism are as clearly applicable for advantageous use in connection with a sin le igniting device.

As an example of ow the structure ma be readily mod'ied for use in connection wit engines having independent' cylinders and pistons or of tandem attention is invited to Fig. 6. The two cylinders are designated, respectively,

a and 8a. The switch mechanism is exact y the same asthat illustrated in Fig. 5, and the same reference-numerals have therefore been applied thereto, the only diHerence residing in the fact that the lead 42 from the secondary coil has branches 42a to securethe grounding of said lead on both cylinders.

From the foregoing itis thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein-described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without therein to explode I IIO those located side by side instead l ing a primary circuit that includes said induc- ,13 circuit including an element alternately sierra further description, and itwill be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion, `and'im'nor details ofconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit-or sacrificing any ofthe advantages of the invention.

Havingthus described my invention, what I cl'aim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In ignition mechanism, the combination, with an engine, ofa sparker, induction apparatus having a secondary circuit including the sparker, a source of electrical'energy havtion appara-tus,y a switch for the secondary movable in reverse directions, a switch for 4the primary circuit including an element alternately movable in reverse directions, a de- .vice for operating the switches to successively close the secondary and primary switchesl in the order named and open the same in reverse order, and an eccentric vdevice driven by the engine to eiectthe necessary movements of said device. 2. In ignition mechanism, the combination with an engine, of a sparker, induction apparatus having a secondary circuit including the sparker, a source of electrical energy having a primary circuit that includes said induction apparatus, a switch for the secondary circuit, a'switch for the primary circuit, a

device for operating the switches to successively close the secondary and primary switches 1n the order-name same in reverse order, said device having a swinging movement and a reciprocatory fulcrum, and an eccentric device driven bythe engine and engaging 'the operating device to effect the necessary movements thereof.

'3. In ignition mechanism, the combination with an engine, of a sparker, induction appa-- ratus having a secondary circuit including the sparker, a source of electrical energy having aprimary circuit that includes said induction apparatus, a swinging switch-operating device, switch mechanism for closing 'and opening the primary and secondary circuits, said mechanism including a swinging contact element carried by the operating device and a reciprocatingcontact element actuated by said operating device, and means for effecting the swinging moveinentof the switchoperating device to swing and reciprocate said contact elements.

4. In ignition mechanism, the combination with an engine, of a sparker, a switch .com-

prising a contact device and a fulcrumed arm having a contact device coacting with the first-mentioned device, means `for operating the arm from the engine, means for changing the path of movementl ofthe contact device carried b the arm, and an electric circuit including t e switch and sparker.

5. In ignition mechanism, the combination and4 open thewith an engine, of asparlrer, a switch comprising a contact device `and a ulcrunied arm aving a contact device coacting with the first-mentioned device,` means for operating the arm from the engine, means for changing the position ofA the fulcrum of the arm for varying theA path of movement of the contact device carried thereby, and an electric circuit including the switch and sparken 6. In ignition mechanism, the combination with an engine, of a sparker, a switch comprising a stationary contact device and an arm having a sliding fulcrum and a Contact device coacting with the first-mentioned device, means for operating the arm from the engine, an adjustable guide for the sliding fulcruni of the arm, and an electric circuit including the switch and sparker.

'7. In ignition mechanism, the combination witlilan engine, of asparlrer, a switch comprising a laterally-'adjustable support, means `for holdingthesupp'ort in diiierent lateral positions, an arin pivoted between its ends on the support, a contact device carried by one end of the arm, and another contact device disposed in the path of movement of that carried-by the arm, means driven from the engine and connected to the other end of the arm for swinging said arm, and an electric circuit including the switch and sparlrer.

8. In ignition mechanism, the combination with an engine, of a sparker, a swinging lever, means for holding the lever in different positions, a switch comprising an arm pivoted to the lever and coacting contact devices, one of which is mounted on the lever, the other being mounted on the arm, means operated by lOO the engine for swinging the arm, and an clec-- tric circuit including the switch and sparlrer. 9. In ignition mechanism, the combination with an engine and an .engine -shait, of a sparker, a lever having a tu crum the axis of niovementofwhichis substantiallyconcentric to that ofthe engine-shaft, meansvfor holding the lever in diii'erent positions, a switch comprising an arm pivoted between its ends upon -the lever, an eccentric carried bythe engineshaft and having a connection with one end ofthe arm and coacting contact devices, one

of which is mounted on the lever, the other being carried by the free end of the arm, and an electric circuit including theswitch andl sparker.

10. In ignition mechanism, the combination with an engine-shaft, of a lever journaled on the shaft, a rack, a dog cooperating with the rack for holding the lever in different relations, an arm movably mounted on the lever, means carried by theshait and connected to the arm for moving the same, a sparker, a

switch comprising coacting elements, one of which is mounted on the lever, the otherheing mountei `on the arm, and an electric circuit for the s parker including the switch.

1l. In ignition mechanism, the combination with an en ine-shaft, of a swinging support, means ho ding the support in different positions against its swinging movement, a sparker, a switch comprisinlT co'acting elements, one ci which is mounted on the swinging support, the other h'aving a reciprocatory movement on said support, means mounted on the shaft for eiiecting the re'ciprocatory movement of said element, and an electric c irro cuit including the switch.`-

12. In ignition mechanism, the combination with an engine-shaft, of a lever journaledon the shaft, means for holdingthe lever indiierent positions against its 'swinging movei5 ment, a sparker, va swinging arm having a fulcrum that reciprocates uponl the lever, a

switch comprising elements, one of which is mounted on the lever, the other reciprocating with the fulcrum, means mounted' on the enzo gine-shaft for swinging the arm and reciproeating its fulcrum, and an electric circuit includinor the switch.

13. In ignition mechanism, the combination with an engine, of a sparker, a switch '25 comprising a contact device, a swinging arm haiving a pivot support between its ends, said pivot having a reciprocatory movement and another contact device supported on and carried by the pivot, means connected to one 3o end of the arm and driven by the engine for moving the same, and an electric circuit includin the switch and sparker.

14. In ignition mechanism, the combination with an engine, of a sparker, a switch com- 3 5 prising a contact device, a swinging arm havadjustable transversely of the path of recip.

roc'atlon of the ulcrum, and an electric cir- 50 cuit including the switch and sparker.

l-16. In ignition meehanism,the combination with an engine, of a sparker, a switch comprising a contact device, a swinging arm having a reciprocatory fulcrum, a contact de- V5 5 vice carried by said fulcrum and coacting with the inst-mentioned contact device, an adjustable lever havin a guideway that'receives the fulcrum of t e arm, and an elecsparker.

tion with an engine,of a sparker, a swinging arm having a reciprocatory fulcrum that `is adjustable transversely of its path of recipro- 6 5 cation,` an electrical contact device adjusta sparker, a switchA tric circuit including the switch and the- 17. In ignition mechanism, the combina-V 'siafiva able with the Jfulcrum and n iaintain'edagainst reciprocation therewith and another electrical contact device operated by the fulcrum and o also adjustable with the same, meansyoper- A ated by ythe engine for moving the Mm, andA 7o .an electric circuit including the.switch-.fl t

18. In ignition mechanism, thefcombination with an. engine, of spark-generating o mechanism including .a sparker, 'la swinging arm havinga reciprocato "fullcrurnI Ya'con- 75 tact device movable with ltviie arm, a contact device movable with the fulcrum, other contact devices coacting with said movable idevices,` and means for :swinging and recipro eating the' arm. y' 8o 19. In ignition mechanism, the combination with an enginefof spark-generating mechanism including alsp'arke'r, aswingin arm having a reciprocatory fulcrum. locate between its ends, a'contact device carriedby 8 5 one end of the arm," azreciprfocatory contact device movable with the ulcru'm,y other coiitact` devices coacting with `saiglfmovable 'dey vices, and means connected to that'end'oftheIV -arm opposite the one carrying the leoitactfor 9o effecting the movement .of said-arm. A' i 20. In ignition mechanism; thelcombination with an engine, Aoi 'spark'-fgen'nating;l mechanism including la' sparker,` au swinging arm having a reci rocatory iulc'rur'n," a guide 95 for the fulcrum'a justableftransverselyfyofits path of movement,'setsof'coacting vContact devices, one of said contact devices being carried by the" arm and another by the"fulcrur'n, f and means driven by the engine for effecting :oo the movement ofthe arm@`r l 21. In ignition mechanism, 'thecombixla-v tion with an' engine, o fvfsparlrgenerating mechanism including a fspaik'er,i a' swingingv arm having a. reci" ro'c'atory'ulcrum', a guide 1o 5 for said fulcrum a justable transverselyor" its path of reciprocation, sets ofA eoacting Contact devices carried by the, guide, the arm, and the fulcrum, and means :ven 1bytheeiigine"for:Y` eHecting the movement of thev armi' 1' f 22. In ignition mech'anisni," -tlie combination with an" en."ine,*of'Fspiaik"''igenerating mechanism' in cludir'ig I'a spark ,la rswinging lever having a guide'wayfcon-tact:devices "lo-w cated on the lever, contiguou's'toone end and r i 5 contiguous tothe guideway, y'ani arm Ehaving a reciprocatory fulcrum operating intlieguideway, a Contact device carried by the? fulcrum,

another contact devlce carried. by -vthe arm,1;

and means for operating thefarm from thel enr zo 23. In lgnltion mechaiusm,'thecolnbmation withl an engine and" engineshaft, fof

sp ark-generv ating mechanism including indff i. pendent sparkers, a lever having afulcrum x25 substahtially concentric to the engine-shaft and provided with a longitudfinally-disposed slot, contact-,heads carried by thefree vnd of .the lever and having electrical 'connections-- with the sparkers, an arm havingr a fulcrum :13o

between its ends that is' slidabl mounted in the slot of the lever, a contact evice` carried by one end cf the arm and successively coactlng with the contact-heads of the lever', a cam v tact-head on the engine-shaft having an engagement with the mg a sparker, a source, 'of'electrical energy.

avmg aprimary circuit thatfincludes said induction apparatus, a'switch for the sccondary circuit a switch one of said switches including anoscillating member, the other including a reciprocatory member, and a movable actuating device .having a reciprocating portion and an' oscillating rtion,4 said ortlons respectively carrying t` ereciprocatlng andvoscillating members cf the swltches.. v Y A Inftest'imony that I. claim the foregoing as the presence of two Witnesses.

n f JOHN F. JOHNSON. Witnesses:

.A TJOHNT-:fHwSIGQERa l Si GEORGE TATE.

for the primary circuit, l

vmy o wn I have hereto affixed my signature in 

